Interview with Stephanie M Turner

Creating a new story for others to read, so they can enjoy what my imagination sees. Building the story and watching the characters develop as the plot unfolds from beginning to conclusion.

You were an avid reader from being very little; what did you read when you were a teenager?

I have to confess that I discovered Mills & Boon for a bit of romance and light reading. But I also enjoyed Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Thomas Hardy. A bit eclectic I know.

Who have been your greatest inspiration, other than your daughters and your career?

Actually I would say my mother was my first inspiration. When I was little everything in our home was an object of play. She never minded when my sisters and I took all of the books off the bookshelf to play libraries with, or the tins and packets of food out of the cupboard for our shop. Even the garden had an area that was left for us to dig in, plant seeds and make mud pies with. She encouraged us to use our imagination and create stories through our play. After my mother, Enid Blyton and Robert Arthur influenced my writing. At that time though I didn’t think about who had written the stories, only that I wanted to write stories like that too.

Your family and work have clearly given you a great deal of material. In what way have they provided this?

My husband and I have always encouraged our children to talk to us openly and ask questions about anything. Therefore no topic was taboo in our household. Because of this all of our children felt they could come and relate stories about their friends and other teens at school. Many of their friends who couldn’t talk to their own parents would come and chat to me too. This gave me a mental treasure chest of the way teenagers act and interact. Also as a teacher, I have always found it easy to communicate with children of all ages and because they are ever changing as they grow, provide an infinite source of material.

How useful are reviews to you?

I find all reviews very useful. The opinion of my readers is very important as each has their own. When I wrote Hook Line And Internetted, I knew it wasn't my best work. Mostly because the real life story was from start to finish emails from a real man to a woman who he thought was real, when she was actually a fictional profile on an internet dating site. The man is known to my husband and myself and is so obnoxious and self-centred that it inspired us to create this woman and see how far it would go. As expected, he fed the woman a continuous stream of lies. Adding the back story was very complicated and I don't think I pulled it off too well, although some readers have enjoyed it. The emails themselves are exactly as they were written with all spelling and grammatical errors left in. Because I knew it wouldn't be my greatest, I set it as a free book just for people to enjoy, and of course, if they didn't it hadn't cost them anything.

What other novels have you written?

I have written a young adult novel titled Fifteen Going On Grown Up which is available in paperback and as an e-book. The novel is about fifteen year old Hally who has suffered low level bullying at school because her figure developed disproportionately. Despite this she is mature for her age but lacks confidence. So when she meets Wes, a boy three and a half years older she is very nervous about the relationship. The story follows a year and a bit of Hally’s life, her final official year at school, and explores all of the usual things teenagers face, her first sexual experiences and some more unusual but realistic events. It also uncovers a secret that Wes has been keeping that threatens to destroy Hally’s happiness.I have also written an adult novel which will shortly be available on Smashwords titled Out Of The Grey. It is an erotic novel of one woman’s emergence from a grey mundane existence into a world of colour, where she embarks on a journey of self-empowerment, sexual discovery and self-gratification. Where desire and love meets lust and raw sex, and where lies and secrets are uncovered in a climatic conclusion. It is a direct contrast to Fifty Shades and other similar titles and is even more enticing. The main character, Derby, has lived for so long in the shadows of a grey marriage and life. She realises this on her fortieth birthday and decides to make changes. From there on she discovers herself, and she discovers the joy and fulfilment of sex through self-gratification and men, one in particular. Along the way she empowers herself, and takes complete control of her new and vibrant life.

What are you working on next?

I am already writing two other novels both very different from ‘Fifteen’ and ‘Out Of The Grey’. One is called ‘Caramel Cupcakes’ and is about a twelve year old boy called Daniel who has learning difficulties and is quiet and gentle. His father believes boys should be tough and sporty and because Daniel is neither of these his father abuses him verbally and physically. Daniel’s mother stands by and lets it happen, and it is only with the support of his school that he is able to cope and realise a skill he never knew he had. The other is called ‘Hot Pink Lip-gloss√ Hot Pink Bikini√ Hot pink Boys?’. It is about a thirteen year old girl called Radella who is quite a little drama queen. She lives with her mother who is a single parent and struggles financially. Because her mother has to work full time, Radella is sent to her grandmother’s during the summer holidays every year. Her grandmother is quite strict. However this year is different, not only is Ella, as she’s usually known, now a teenager with raging hormones but Gran is busy with her new toy boy and lets Ella off the leash. The story is written in the form of a diary covering the six weeks of Ella’s summer holiday with gran.

What do you think about mainstream V self-publishing?

Just like many unknown authors I would very much like to be able to attract the attention of a literary agent and gain a mainstream publishing contract. However, like knowing the Exmoor beast exists, but actually being able to find it, is the same as the elusive publishing contract. I know it's their, but cannot get hold of it. One agency I contacted recently replied with 'You write well and your narrative style is very engaging. However, we have decided to decline it as we found it doesn't quite fit our list.' Unfortunately, this is a very common reply. I'm sure were I known, the work would fit well. A good example being the recent release of J K Rowling's novel under a pseudonym not taking off until it became known she had written it. So many of us new and unknown authors have to self-publish for our work to get out there. However, it doesn't get the coverage of mainstream and yes of course there is a lot of rubbish out there. But there is also a lot more quality writing, and not all of the mainstream well known authors are writing well either. Some books I have read recently from very well known authors have been badly written, badly edited and have very weak storylines. But because of who they are, they are published without question. It really is about time mainstream took a gamble on some of us indie authors. We are not looking for big pay outs, just the opportunity for our work to reach as many readers as known authors, and be able to be entered into awards and prizes that mainstream published authors can.

Published 2013-08-29.

Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author, publisher or reader.

Books by This Author

Derby wakes on the morning of her fortieth birthday, which also happens to be her twenty four year wedding anniversary, and finds her first grey hair. In that one moment she realises her whole life and marriage has been dull, loveless and lifeless and now she must do something to change it.

Based on true events. Angela's friend Maggie discovers her husband Phil has been cheating on her. She is so distraught after confronting him that she has a fatal car accident. Phil does not know that Maggie confided in Angela before the accident and Angela does not let on she knows. Instead with the help of her own husband, Angela decides to take revenge on Phil by using an internet dating agency.